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Brian Booth's Tracking
Quizzes
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Quiz #29 - Question
(Jan 2010)
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| Here’s a quiz from sunny Arizona. |
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Photo 29A Habitat: Sonoran
desert, southern Arizona. (For those of you into astronomy, the
structure on the mountaintop is Kitt Peak Observatory.)
Time of year: March |
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Photo 29B I was driving down
the highway just after sunrise in this remote area of Arizona. I
pulled over to stretch my legs, and flushed up an animal from the
shoulder of the road, near the saguaro & prickly pear cacti and
mesquite trees. |
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Photo 29C I jumped out of the
car and found some of the animal’s footprints in the dust amidst the
human and car tire tracks (Photos 29C & 29D). |
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Photo 29D |
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Photo 29E Photo 29E is zoomed
in on the short trail of the animal that was visible in the dust.
The animal was turning, so it was not possible to measure stride
exactly, but its stride was about 6 inches, and its trail width was
about 4½ inches. |
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Photo 29F Photos 29F, 29G and
29H are closeups of the tracks. The tracks measure approximately 1
3/8 inch wide by 3½ inches long. |
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Photo 29G |
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Photo 29H |
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Questions:
- What desert creature made the tracks?
- How can you rule out this animal’s “cousin”?
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